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Dark green blown glass body, mounted in silver with applied and engraved ornament, set with malachite panels, semi-precious stone, cloisonné enamels, two 17th century coral cameos each of a nymph's head, one of Cupid holding a basket, and another of Cupid holding a garland, a Roman first century AD nicolo intaglio of a sleeping hound, a Sassanian 5th or 6th century cornelian intaglio of a personal device Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins, and on the cover, a Chinese rock crystal Buddhist lion. The cast silver handle is in the form of a lion with an ivory head, and the spout is cast in the form of an antelope's head with a silver stopper attached by a chain. The foot is engraved with a hedgehog, a frog, a mouse, and a wren with a worm in its beak, and the 'signature' 'I WREN' for Jenny Wren. The partly obscured inscription on the neck reads: WILLIELMUS BURGES ME FIERI FECIT ANNO DI MDCCLXV EX HONS ECCL[ESI]AE CONSTANTINOPOLITANAE

Production Notes

William Burges was one of the most talented English architects of the High Victorian Gothic Revival. His eclectic taste, love of vivid colouring, and super-abundant inventive powers broought forth a stram of idosyncratic designs for buildings and domestic objects. This decanter demonstrates his flair for combining disparate elements to create an aesthetically satisfying whole. Burges had already conceived the design in 1858, when a similar vessel was shown with several pieces of metalwork in a watercolour serving as the frontispiece of his Orfèvrerie Domestique (RIBA Drawings collection). On the 10th, 11th and 12th sheets of this, there are further drawings for the decanter, the last of which is dated 1864. It was made in 1865 as were two variants: one made for Burges himself, now in the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford; the other made for James Nicholson, and now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (see Documtation). The decoration of the mounts is reminiscent of early medieval crucifixes studded with re-used Roman cameos, intaglios, and uncut gemstones. The foliage applied to the body is also medieval in inspiration, as are the animals humorously engraved on the foot. The inscription indicates that Burges paid for the decanter from the fees which he had received for his prize-winning design of 1856 and later modifications to it, for the Crimea Memorial Church in Constantinople. This, like several of his architectural projects, was never built because its estimated cost proved too high.

Production Place

London (designer) (place)

London (mount maker) (place)

England (mount maker) (country)

English (mount maker) (nationality)

Technique Description

dark green blown glass body, mounted in silver with applied and engraved ornament, set with malachite panels, semi-precious stones, cloisonné enamels, coral cameos, Roman and Sassanian intaglios, Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins, and on the cover, a Chinese rock crystal Buddhist lion. The cast silver handle is in the form of a lion with an ivory head, and the spout is cast in the form of an antelope's head with a silver stopper attached by a chain

inscription Position: on neck Method: engraved Content: WILLIELMUS BURGES ME FIERI FECIT ANNO DI MDCCLXV EX HONS ECCL[ESI]AE CONSTANTINOPOLITANAE Description: Interpretation: indicates that Burges paid for the decanter from the fees which he had received for his prize-winning design of 1856 and later modifications to it for the Crimea Memorail Church in Constantinople, never built Language: Latin

(1973) Fitzwilliam.. The Annual Reports of the Fitzwilliam Museum Syndicate and the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Cambridge for the Year ending 31 December 1972, Cambridge (Cambs.) [page: 10] [comments: Publ. p. 10, and pl. V]